Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Deployment

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask His Majesty's Government when, since 1 January 2003, the UK first made a payment in response to (1) civilian death or injury, or (2) property damage, resulting from overseas operations.

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask His Majesty's Government what werethe overseas operational theatres in respect of which the UK has made payments as a result of (1) civilian death or injury, or (2) property damage, since 1 January 2003.

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask His Majesty's Government how manyindividual payments the UK has made as a result of (1) civilian deathor injury, or (2) property damage, in respect of each overseas operational theatre in which it was engaged since 1 January 2003.

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total monetary amount of financial payments made by the UK in response to (1) civilian death or injury, or (2) property damage, which resulted from acts carried out by UK Armed Forces during overseas operations since 1 January 2003, including (a) formal compensation claims under the Human Right Act 1998, and (b) condolence or ex gratia payments to affected family members or next of kin.

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) lowest, and (2) highest, individual payments made by the UK as a result of (a) civilian death or injury, and (2) property damage, resulting from overseas operations since 1 January 2003.

Baroness Goldie: The first payments were made by the Area Claims Office in Iraq in June 2003. The overseas operational theatres concerned were Iraq and Afghanistan. There are two categories of claims for compensation - Category 1 those brought before the UK Courts and handled by officials in the MOD and Category 2 those handled by the Area Claims Offices staffed by UK personnel based in the overseas operational theatre. IraqCategory 1 - civil litigation(1) Compensation payments have been made on 738 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury.(2) In terms of property claims, no payments have been made Category 2 - Area Claims Office - IraqInformation has been extracted from the register that was compiled by staff in the Area Claims Office in Iraq who held the post between 2003 and 2009. Compensation payments have been made on over 1,000 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury and or property. AfghanistanCategory 1 - civil litigation(1) Compensation payments have been made on 17 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury.(2) Compensation payments have been made on 1 individual claim in respect of property damage since 1 January 2003. Category 2 - Area Claims Office AfghanistanInformation has been extracted from the register that was compiled by the staff in the Area Claims Office in Afghanistan who held the post between 2006 and 2014. Compensation payments have been made on over 4,000 individual claims in respect of civilian death or injury and or property.  In respect of civilian death or injury £27.3 million has been paid relating to claims brought in the UK and £2,245 in respect of property damage claims. These payments include Human Rights Act elements. Some £7.3 million has been made in ex gratia payments for civilian death or injury and property damage by the Area Claims Offices in Iraq and Afghanistan. The lowest payment for (a) civilian death or injury is $50 paid by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan and the lowest payment for (b) property damage is $10.27 paid by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan. The highest individual payment for civilian injury or death is £1.5 million and includes ongoing annual periodic payments. The highest payment for property damage is $232,400 by the Area Claims Office Afghanistan.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Taxation: EU Law

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what issues were discussed and considered at the meeting of the Enhanced Coordination Mechanism on VAT and Excise which took place on 15 June.

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what decisions, if any, were agreed at the meeting of the Enhanced Coordination Mechanism on VAT and Excise which took place on 15 June.

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government to outline any future work programme for the Enhanced Coordination Mechanism on VAT and Excise.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As set out in the Decision of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee on laying down arrangements relating to the Windsor Framework, the Enhanced Coordination Mechanism on VAT and Excise is a specific meeting of the Specialised Committee on the Implementation of the Windsor Framework, and is subject to the Rules of procedure set out in the Withdrawal agreement. In line with those rules, the minutes have not been made public.

Sudan: Violence

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the increasing violence in the Sudanese regions of (1) Darfur, (2) Blue Nile, and (3) South Kordofan, and of the plight of ethnic and religious minorities in those areas.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK condemns the rising violence across Sudan, including Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan. The escalation of violence, killing of civilians, sexual assault of women and the desecration of religious sites must end, humanitarian access must be granted and those responsible must be held to account. We will support international efforts to secure a permanent cessation of hostilities and protection of civilians through statements and resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council and through cooperation with counterparts from African, Quad (Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK and US) and European countries. We are also engaging with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and the African Union, where we are now working through a new Core Group to ensure inclusive regional and international action to secure a viable peace process.

Sudan: Genocide

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what formal assessment they have made of the remarks of President William Ruto of an impending genocide in Sudan and of the UK’s obligations under the 1948 Convention on the Crime of Genocide.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK strongly condemns the ongoing escalation of violence in Darfur. On 16 June, the Minister for Development and Africa publicly condemned the attacks on civilians in West Darfur, including the killing of Governor Khamis Abaker. These atrocities must end immediately, and the UK will use all diplomatic means to help achieve this. The UK recently called for a UN Security Council discussion on Darfur. This took place on 23 June, and resulted in a Council press statement, calling for the respect of international humanitarian law and for the fighting to end. As a signatory of the 1948 Convention on the Crimes of Genocide, the UK is fully committed to the punishment of those complicit in genocide. The UK recognises findings of genocide by competent national or international courts that meet international standards of due process. The UK is funding organisations who are working with local partners to collect, verify and preserve digital content from the conflict, including incidents of significant abuse. We are also providing support to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Sudan, a UN body that provides a crucial role in monitoring and reporting on human rights violations. By working with our international partners, we are supporting efforts to secure a permanent ceasefire, the most important thing we can do to ensure the safety of all in Sudan.

Department of Health and Social Care

IVF

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 15 July 2013 (HL1303) and by Lord Markham on 6 June 2023 (HL7725) and 27 June 2023 (HL8708), whether the implantation failure rate to date for pronuclear transfer is therefore entirely explicable on the basis of maternal age; or if not, what is the most plausible explanation for deviation from prior expectations.

Lord Markham: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it has not made an assessment to date of the implantation failure rate for pronuclear transfer on the basis of maternal age, as the number to date is too low.

Eating Disorders

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any increase in the number of cases of people with eating disorders since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lord Markham: Whilst we do not hold information on the numbers of adults requiring treatment for eating disorders, we know there has been a rise in demand amongst children and young people.Around 12,500 children and young people started eating disorder treatment in 2021/22 – an increase of 16% on the previous year (around 10,700) in 2020/21.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Baroness Bull: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 27 June (HL8432), whether their current policy is to allow the private sale of COVID-19 vaccines through (1) pharmacies, or (2) other healthcare providers.

Lord Markham: As mentioned in my letter on 1 June, the private provision of COVID-19 vaccination is not a decision for the Government. Vaccines that have been licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for use in the United Kingdom can be prescribed by a physician, either in the National Health Service or privately. However, as yet, the pharmaceutical companies producing COVID-19 vaccines have not made these treatments commercially available to the private health care sector in the UK either through pharmacies or other healthcare providers.

Health Services: Digital Technology

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the availability of digital infrastructure to enable effective digital working in healthcare organisations.

Lord Markham: We are committed to advancing the use of digital and technology in the National Health Service, as outlined in ‘A Plan for Digital Health and Social Care’, published in June 2022 in an online-only format. As part of this, digital maturity assessments are underway in the What Good Looks Like programme to give health and care organisations a baseline to understand their progress on meeting digitisation standards. This will enable more targeted support for those organisations that need it. Digital maturity assessments will be updated yearly to track progress on their journey to achieving what good looks like.

Nurses: Digital Technology

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the findings of a study led by the University of Manchester, published in Nursing Standard on 9 May, on nurses’ adoption and use of digital technology during the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans they have to improve access for nursing staff to efficient, effective and reliable digital infrastructure.

Lord Markham: No formal consideration has been given to these findings. However, in June 2022, we set out our plans to digitally transform the National Health Service in ‘A plan for digital health and social care’, which is available in an online-only format. By March 2025, constituent organisations of an integrated care system should have ensured all health and social care settings have the right infrastructure and connectivity to work digitally. There are programmes in place to support NHS staff build their digital literacy, including the Florence Nightingale Foundation Digital Scholarship. The Scholarship is an introduction to the knowledge needed by digital nurses and midwives, with Health Education England having funded over 40 scholarship places.

Health Services: Digital Technology

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government whatrecent assessment they have made of digital literacy of the healthcare workforce.

Lord Markham: Both the Topol Review in 2019 and the Laura Wade-Gery Review in 2021 highlighted the need to build digital literacy across the National Health Service workforce. This is being addressed via the establishment of the Digital Academy, which is now positioned as the home for digital learning and development. We have programmes and packages in place to support this, including the Digital Health Leadership Programme, the Topol Digital Fellowship, and the Digital Skills Assessment Tool.

Health Services: Digital Technology

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding of the University of Manchester, published in Nursing Standard on 9 May, that there is a significant variation in reported usability of the same types of digital technology across different healthcare organisations.

Lord Markham: Whilst we have made no specific assessment of the Nursing Standard article, we have found that the primary reason for variation in digital maturity is disparity in national and local investment over the past two decades. We are aiming to address this through the £2 billion investment in frontline digitisation.Where feasible, we are encouraging systems to explore integrated care system-wide solutions to support integrated care. As part of our Frontline Digitisation support offer, we are also working to build an England-wide community to share lessons learnt, improvements and develop peer-to-peer networks to share best practice.

Prescription Drugs: Misuse

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government how they will measure the effectiveness of actions set out in 'Optimising personalised care for adults prescribed medicines associated with dependence or withdrawal symptoms: Framework for action for integrated care boards (ICBs) and primary care', published on 2 March.

Lord Markham: The framework for action sets out five actions for integrated care boards (ICBs) to consider to further reduce inappropriate prescribing of high-strength painkillers and other addiction-causing medicines, like opioids and benzodiazepines.ICBs should take a population health management approach using data on primary care prescribing and health inequalities to monitor implementation of the actions. This includes looking at data on access to services, patient experience feedback and outcomes for communities within the integrated care system that often experience health inequalities.There are several data resources used to give insights to ICBs and foster improvement at the local level, with data being available on an Opioid Prescribing Comparators dashboard. This dashboard can be used to review up-to-date data, highlight variation, and support local work to reduce harm from the prescribing of dependence and withdrawal forming medicines, as well as equip users with the tools for ongoing monitoring. The dashboard will be continually reviewed and updated with more metrics and views. More data is also available on duration of treatment of opioids, benzodiazepines, and z-drugs, as well as the number of patients prescribed a dependence forming medicine who have received a structured medication review.

Dental Services: County Durham

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the closure of BUPA dental care in Bishop Auckland and Shildon on patients’ access to NHS dental services.

Lord Markham: Following BUPA’s notice to NHS England of closures, regional teams and integrated care boards across England are working together to ensure that patients continue to have access to National Health Service dental care. This includes an assessment to identify potential gaps in NHS dental service provision and to consider what actions may be required.

Screening: Age

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what are the age limits on each of the NHS screening programmes and the justification for each limit.

Lord Markham: All National screening programmes are introduced based on recommendations made by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The UK NSC assesses and evaluates the evidence to offer screening when it will offer more good than harm. Screening age ranges are selected based on the range where the evidence supports that balance.The National Health Service breast screening programme invites eligible women to be screened every three years from the age of 50 up to their 71st birthday.The NHS bowel screening programme invited men and women every two years from ages 60 to 74 years old. The programme is expanding to make it available to everyone aged 50 to 59 years old. This is happening gradually over four years and started in April 2021.The NHS cervical screening programme invites people with a cervix between the ages of 25 and 49 for screening every three years, whilst people aged 50 to 64 receive an invitation every five years.The NHS abdominal aortic aneurysm screening programme offers men a screening the year they turn 65.The NHS diabetic eye screening programme is offered to anyone with diabetes who is 12 years old or over. Those eligible are invited for an annual screening.The NHS targeted lung cancer screening programme that has been recently announced will invite people aged 55 to 74 identified as being at high risk of lung cancer for screening.For antenatal screening programmes, pregnant women are invited early for screening once the pregnancy has been confirmed. This includes the NHS foetal anomaly screening programme and NHS infectious diseases in pregnancy.

Glaucoma: Medical Treatments

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the use of innovative medical technology in the treatment of glaucoma.

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve glaucoma care in independent sector treatment centres.

Lord McColl of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure equity in the provision of glaucoma care (1) across the country, and (2) in different health settings.

Lord Markham: The Government recognises that innovation is crucial to drive improvements in clinical care and improved outcomes for people living with sight-threatening conditions. Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet local needs. In making commissioning decisions, we would expect ICBs to take into account the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on the diagnosis and management of glaucoma which NICE keeps under review, to ensure that it reflects developments in medical technology and clinical practice.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care in England, and this includes independent sector providers. CQC monitors, inspects and regulates services and publish what it finds. Where CQC finds poor care, it can use its enforcement powers to take action. This sits alongside guidance issued by NICE for the treatment of glaucoma and any professional standards issued by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, which we would expect National Health Service commissioners to have regard to when commissioning services from the independent sector.NHS England’s Getting It Right First Time Programme is also working with providers across the country to reduce unwarranted variation in care across a range of eyecare subspecialties, including glaucoma.

Palliative Care: Mortality Rates

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the finding by N White et al ASystematic Review of Predictions of Survival in Palliative Care: How Accurate Are Clinicians and Who Are the Experts?, published on 25 August 2016, which found that the accuracy of prognoses for terminal illnesses ranged between 23 and 78 per cent; and who is responsible within NHS England for collecting such data.

Lord Markham: No assessment has been made. Data on the accuracy of prognoses of terminal illness is not collected by NHS England.

Dental Services: County Durham

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of patients in Shildon, Bishop Auckland, and across County Durham to access NHS dental services

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take, if any, to increase access to NHS dental services in County Durham.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the Northeast and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board has undertaken sufficient analysis of the access problems facing NHS dental patients in that area.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to require the Northeast and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board to submit proposals to ensure that NHS patients have access to NHS dental services near to where they live.

Lord Markham: The Northeast and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) is proactively issuing regular communications updates to patients and local stakeholders regarding the pressures facing National Health Service dentistry locally, whilst seeking to build resilience through local initiatives that seek to improve access to unscheduled urgent dental care for those in greatest clinical need.Since taking on NHS Primary Care regulatory dental commissioning responsibility from NHS England on 1 April 2023, the Northeast and North Cumbria ICB have agreed to the establishment of a Local Dental Crisis Task and Finish Group to explore further ways in which the ICB could seek to address NHS dental access and workforce pressures in addition to theNHS Long term workforce strategy, and also committed to an independent oral health review of the North East & North Cumbria area with a view to the findings becoming available by October 2023.The steps outlined above will help to inform the ICB's future commissioning of NHS dental services. There are no plans to require ICBs to submit proposals on their commissioning of NHS dental services.In July 2022, we announced a package of dental system improvements which outlined the steps we are taking to meet oral health need and increase access to dental care across all regions in England. We know more needs to be done and we continue to work with the sector and NHS England to consider further changes which will be announced shortly.

Obesity

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what were the circumstances under which the NHS body mass index calculator was taken offline from March until earlier this month.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government why they took almost two years to respond to the concerns of Dr Stuart Flint regarding the NHS body mass index calculator.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to add advice on calories and exercise to the NHS body mass index calculator.

Lord Markham: The National Health Service body mass index (BMI) calculator was temporarily removed from the NHS.UK website on 29 March 2023 due to the requirement to update the disclaimer and to remove the physical activity and calorie information which was no longer in line with latest health guidance. The BMI calculator, without the physical activity and calorie information, was made available again on 30 May 2023.A new version of the BMI calculator is being developed to reflect the latest health guidance. A first release is expected to be available by November 2023.Information about physical activity and guidance about eating a healthy, balanced diet continues to be available on the NHS.UK website.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Ofwat: Standards

Lord Birt: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans they have to review the performance of Ofwat as an effective regulator.

Lord Benyon: The Environment Act 2021 gave Ofwat new powers to strengthen existing licence conditions so that it can take enforcement action against water companies that do not make an explicit link between dividend payments and their performance for customers and the environment. In May, Ofwat received an £11.3m funding budget increase from HM Treasury to treble its enforcement capacity. This additional funding, alongside commitments in our Plan for Water to bolster tougher enforcement action, will further increase Ofwat’s capacity to hold water companies to account and protect our waters. Where companies fail to meet their obligations, regulators have not hesitated to act. Ofwat’s annual performance assessment process, and the automatic penalties that apply to companies who underperform, represents an excellent example of strong economic and environmental regulation. In November 2022, Ofwat announced financial penalties of £132 million applying to 11 water companies, in response to underperformance in areas such as water supply interruptions, pollution incidents and internal sewer flooding. Money from Ofwat’s penalties will rightly be returned to customers through water bills over the 2023-24 billing period.

Rivers: Fish

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the plans by the Environment Agency to oxygenate England's rivers in the event of a heatwave, what other action they intend to take to protect river fish in England; and in particular, what action they plan to take to improve the resilience of rivers in England in the face of climate change and to address poor water quality, pollution, over abstractions and low flows, which the Angling Trust say are also responsible for the rise in ‘fish kill’ incidents.

Lord Benyon: The third National Adaptation Programme, due to be published later this year, will set out the government's approach to addressing the 61 risks and opportunities identified in the third Climate Change Risk Assessment. This includes risks to freshwater habitats and species, like river fishes, from changing climatic conditions and extreme events. It will include actions to support the resilience of our freshwater, such as those we have committed to in the Government’s Plan for Water, Environmental Improvement Plan and River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs). The actions in the Plan for Water are directed towards addressing poor water quality, pollution, over abstractions and low flows and will provide a basis for planning our longer- term response to mitigate climate impacts. The River Basin Management Plans, produced by the Environment Agency, and supporting catchment plans aim to mitigate climate change impacts by restoring the integrity and resilience of natural systems. As well as action on water quality, pollution and low flow, they include actions such as restoring habitats, improving river connectivity by removing barriers to fish migration and the Keeping Rivers Cool project (copy attached), to reduce fishes’ exposure to increasing temperatures. Keeping Rivers Cool Guidance Manual (pdf, 4526.1KB)

Hares: Conservation

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessments they have undertaken in the last 20 years of the impact of hunting practices on the orphaning of brown hare leverets in England and Wales.

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to (1) address the issue of orphaning in the brown hare population, and (2) protect dependent young hares.

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the introduction of a closed season for hunting activities to coincide with the breeding and rearing of brown hares; if so, what progress they have made in this work; and if not, what alternative measures or strategies they assess would be needed to address the impact of hunting practices on dependent young hares.

Lord Benyon: In May 2021, a commitment was included within the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare to consider legislation to introduce a close season for brown hares in England. It was considered that a close season, prohibiting the killing of hares during their breeding season, would be likely to reduce the number of leverets (young hares) left motherless, giving them a better chance of survival. This is consistent with Natural England’s advice on wildlife management, which is to avoid controlling species in their peak breeding season unless genuinely essential and unavoidable. Introducing a close season for brown hares remains an option. An industry-led, non-statutory code of practice to protect hares in England is already in place which states that lethal control to prevent damage to crops should only be carried out in the winter months of January and February when vegetation is low and hares are easily visible. These months avoid the main breeding season and thereby reduce risks to dependent young. In the absence of a close season, the Government has taken other forms of action which should have beneficial effects for our brown hares. Last year we introduced new measures to strengthen law enforcement and increase the powers of the courts through the Police, Crime Sentencing and Courts Act to clamp down on the scourge of hare coursing. They have been widely welcomed. The new offences and higher penalties introduced by the Act are all being used and imposed by the courts. Further to this, brown hare is one of the indicator species for our legally binding targets in England to halt the decline in species abundance by 2030 and then reverse declines by 2042. We know that in order to meet these targets we will need large-scale habitat creation, restoration and improved connectivity. Our legally binding target to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat is already driving action on this front, including for habitat on which hares rely to flourish, such as open grassland.

Home Office

Asylum: Sudan

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government how many Sudanese asylum seekers are awaiting a Home Office decision; and whether the Home Office considers Sudan a safe country to which asylum seekers will be returned if they fail to be given leave to remain.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: The Home Office publishes data on asylum in the ‘Immigration System Statistics Quarterly Release’ (available on gov.uk). Data on asylum applications awaiting initial decision by nationality can be found in table Asy_D03 of the ‘Asylum and resettlement detailed datasets’.Information on how to use the datasets can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbooks. The latest data relate to the year ending March 2023.All asylum and human rights claims from Sudanese nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, taking into account relevant refugee law and country information.The Home Office’s assessment of the general security situation in Sudan for the use of officials handling protection claims is set out in our country policy and information note on this subject of June 2023. This note is available on gov.uk.table Asy_D03 (xlsx, 1284.1KB)

Asylum: Boats

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the nature of the contract the Home Office has agreed for the barges that will be used to house asylum seekers; what period of time this will be for; and at what cost.

Lord Murray of Blidworth: Vessels will be managed by an experienced accommodation provider under contractual terms agreed with the Home Office. The same supplier has safely and successfully managed two vessels for Ukrainian refugees for the Scottish Government over the past year.The Bibby Stockholm vessel will be managed by our supplier, under contractual terms agreed with the Home Office.The Bibby Stockholm barge and berth have been contracted for 18 months.

Police: Artificial Intelligence

Baroness Primarolo: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of artificial intelligence by the police; and what rules, if any, they plan to introduce to achieve this.

Baroness Primarolo: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to ensure proper scrutiny of the technical and ethical issues arising from the use of artificial intelligence by the police.

Baroness Primarolo: To ask His Majesty's Government whatadvice they will give to Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners on the use of artificial intelligence by police Chief Scientific Advisers.

Baroness Primarolo: To ask His Majesty's Government which (1) public bodies, (2) initiatives, and (3) programmes, on the governance of artificial intelligence have provided advice to Chief Constables on the use of artificial intelligence in policing.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Where artificial intelligence tools are used, or plan to be used, in policing they must comply with existing legal standards and principles. The Government is supporting the College of Policing and Police Chief Scientific Advisor to create guidance which will advise police forces on how to approach the adoption of new data driven technologies including AI. This will include sections on transparency and accountability. Where AI is used, the Government is enabling collaboration between police forces and independent experts to build trust in its performance. On 5 April 2023 the NPL published independent research, funded by the Government, looking at the performance of facial recognition algorithms in police operational settings. The Government’s consultation on its AI regulation white paper closed on 21 June. The white paper proposed five cross-cutting principles - which included transparency and accountability - and, following an initial non-statutory period, proposed introducing a statutory duty requiring regulators to have due regard to the principles. The Government will update on the proposals in its response to the white paper consultation.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Cybersecurity

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask His Majesty's Government what actions they are taking to strengthen the UK's cybersecurity capabilities; and how they plan to address emerging threats such as cyber espionage.

Viscount Camrose: The Government is investing £2.6 billion in the National Cyber Strategy to protect and promote the UK online and improve our national cyber security capabilities. This includes work to increase the number of skilled cyber security professionals and programmes to help UK cyber security businesses grow, develop and innovate. Our regional cyber growth programme is supporting the cyber security sector in all regions and nations of the UK, and includes support for the Belfast cyber security cluster and an £18.9 million investment in Northern Ireland’s cyber security and AI ecosystem. We are also investing to improve cyber security capability in government, law enforcement and across government and agencies.Countering new and existing threats is a key pillar of the National Cyber Strategy. This work ranges from detecting, disrupting and deterring our cyber adversaries, through to improving cyber resilience in critical national infrastructure and organisations across the economy. Improvements in cyber resilience helps defend against espionage, as well as the widespread threat from cyber criminals and other malicious actors.

Cybersecurity

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are takingto increase the number of cybersecurity professionals in the UK.

Viscount Camrose: As part of the Government's £2.6 billion National Cyber Strategy, the Government is delivering a range of ambitious programmes to boost the number of people with the skills needed to enter the cyber workforce.Northern Ireland is a global cyber security hub, with ambition to grow its cyber security workforce to exceed 5,000 professionals by 2030. As part of an £18.9 million investment in Northern Ireland’s cyber security industry the Government is funding a Doctoral training programme and Masters bursaries at Queen's University Belfast to support the development of talent for Northern’s Ireland’s cyber sector.To help people with the necessary aptitude to enter the cyber workforce across the whole of the UK we offer free cyber skills bootcamps through the Government’s ‘Skills for Life’ scheme, including the current “Upskill in Cyber” reskilling programme.To inspire young people towards a career in cyber and tech, the Government’s Cyber Explorers programme supports teachers to energise 11-14 year olds across the UK. This has seen over 2,000 schools sign up for the programme in its first phase, alongside the National Cyber Security Centre-led ‘CyberFirst’ competitions and degree bursaries.The Government has worked with industry and other partners to create the UK Cyber Security Council as the new professional body for cyber security. The Council will clearly define quality pathways into and through a cyber career, making a cyber career more attractive to both the current and future workforce.

Department for Transport

Driving Under Influence

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for reviewing the maximum legal alcohol limit in relation to driving motor vehicles as measured bybreathalyser tests.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: While the Government keeps this issue under review, there are not currently any plans to change the drink drive limit.

Bicycles and Electric Scooters: Pedestrian Areas

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to take to deal with for hire bikes and scooters that are left in public areas such as pavements.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Rule 70 of The Highway Code advises, but does not require, people to park their cycle where it will not cause an obstruction or hazard to other road users. It is usually a requirement of hiring a cycle that users leave it in a place which does not obstruct the footway. When parliamentary time allows, the Department intends to create a new licensing framework for rental micromobility operations, giving local transport authorities the additional powers they need to shape and manage both cycle and e-scooter rental schemes. This would include the ability to set rules about the management of rental cycles and e-scooters on the pavement.

Department for Business and Trade

Foreign Investment in UK: USA

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that US companies gain confidence in the UK as a place to invest.

Lord Johnson of Lainston: The U.S.-UK bilateral investment relationship is the largest in the world, with £1.14 trillion in FDI stock supporting more than 2.7 million jobs in both countries.On the 8th of June, the Prime Minister and the President announced a first-of-its-kind economic partnership. The Atlantic Declaration and accompanying Action Plan cover the full spectrum of our economic, technological, commercial and trade relations. On the same day, the PM announced more than £14bn of new investment in the UK by US companies.More widely, the Government is investing £26 billion in the UK economy designed to unlock £90billion of private sector investment, both domestic and international, by 2030.

Bicycles and Electric Scooters: Batteries

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports of recent deaths in Cambridge caused by an e-bike battery catching fire, what steps they will take to ban theimportation of e-bike and e-scooter batteries which do not have the UL2271 battery certification.

The Earl of Minto: The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) was notified of this incident by the National Fire Chiefs Council. OPSS are liaising with Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service and Trading Standards to provide support and to obtain details regarding the product to enable a follow up investigation to take place.UK law requires that all consumer products must be safe before being placed on the UK market. Where products are identified that do not meet the UK’s product safety requirements, OPSS works with local Trading Standards to quickly remove them from the market.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Buildings: Solar Power

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential costs and benefits of requiring plans for all new commercial and public car parks to include solar panels.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: We recently consulted on proposals for a new permitted development right which would enable the construction of solar canopies in ground-level off-street car parks in non-domestic settings without a planning application. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Community Assets

Lord Godson: To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to the Community Right to Bid under the Localism Act 2011, how many assets of community value have been listed in England; how many groups have triggered the moratorium period; how many assets have been bought by community groups; and how much of the £150 million Community Ownership Fund announced in 2021 has been spent to date.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Community assets play a vital role in creating thriving neighbourhoods, where people meet, connect, and spend time together. The Government does not hold the information requested because this is a matter for local authorities.The Community Ownership Fund has, so far, awarded £36.8 million to 150 projects across the United Kingdom. A total of £25.5 million has been allocated to 97 projects in England, £5.2 million allocated to 24 projects in Scotland, £3.2 million to 15 projects in Wales and £3 million to 14 projects in Northern Ireland. Round 3 Window 1 of the fund is now open and will close on 12th July.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask His Majesty's Government how long they expect the construction of the proposed Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre in Victoria Tower Gardens will take; and what proportion of those Gardens they estimate will be occupied by the Centre (1) during construction, and (2) on completion.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: The construction phase is expected to last around three years. Provision will be made to ensure as much of Victoria Tower Gardens as possible is open to users during construction works.The design uses around 7.5 per cent of the area of Victoria Tower Gardens.

National Holocaust Memorial Centre and Learning Service

Baroness Deech: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement byBaroness Scott of Bybrook on 28 June forecasting the cost for completion of the proposed Holocaust Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens as £138.8 million (HLWS875),what estimate they have made of the cost at the likely date of completion, whether they will require the charitable contribution to rise to meet the original one-third of the cost, what undertakings they have received so far about charitable contributions, and what plans they have for continuing to fund Holocaust education.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: Our estimate of costs at the likely date of completion and our current estimate of charitable donations are set out in the Written Ministerial Statement.The Government is committed to continuing to support and fund Holocaust education. The Department for Education (DfE) has provided over £5.9 million since 2021 to support the Holocaust Educational Trust with their Lessons from Auschwitz programme, with additional funding of £500,000 from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) to extend the programme to students in Higher Education; in the same period DfE has provided £1.5 million to the UCL Institute of Education’s Centre for Holocaust Education.In addition DLUHC has supported a broad range of activities across the country aimed at increasing understanding of the Holocaust and its impact on different communities. Recent projects include:Memorial Gestures – temporary and travelling exhibitions arranged by the Holocaust Centre in Huddersfield, including a programme for schools (£52,500)Kitchener Transport – a short film made by Learning from the Righteous used as an educational resource (£40,000)Roots of antisemitism in England – exhibition organised by National Holocaust Centre, Nottinghamshire (£138,000)Romani arts­ – creating educational materials about the destruction of Roma and Sinti communities (£50,000)Vision Schools – work with University of the West of Scotland to engage students in exploring the contemporary relevance of the Holocaust (£50,000).

Homelessness: LGBT+ People

Baroness Barker: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address LGBTQ+ homelessness.

Baroness Scott of Bybrook: We are committed to tackling homelessness and ending rough sleeping.Our approach is locally led. We are investing over £1 billion into the Homelessness Prevention Grant between 2022 and 25 which funds local authorities to work with landlords to prevent evictions and offer financial support for people to find a new home and provide temporary accommodation if necessary.We expect councils to commission services based on an assessment of the needs of their local community, and this would include LGBT people.Our Rough Sleeping Strategy, published in September 2022, sets out that we will extend investment into coordinated local rough sleeping services and ensure tailored support to meet individual needs, including through the £500 million Rough Sleeping Initiative 2022-25 and the £10 million Night Shelter Transformation Fund, to increase provision of quality single-room provision within the night shelter sector.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Heat Pumps: Housing

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the roll-out of ground source heat pumps in homes.

Lord Callanan: We are putting in place a package of policies to drive the roll-out of ground- and air-source heat pumps, including targeted regulation, a new clean heat market-based mechanism and public funding measures, like the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme and Boiler Upgrade Scheme.

Solar Power: Public Buildings

Baroness Kennedy of Cradley: To ask His Majesty's Government what support they are providing to local authorities to install solar panels on public buildings in their control.

Lord Callanan: The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme is making available £2.5 billion over the financial years 2020/21 to 2024/25 to support public sector organisations including local authorities, schools and hospitals to install heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures - including solar panels - on public sector buildings. As of June 2023, the scheme has awarded grants worth over £2 billion to fund such projects.

Heating: Regulation

Baroness Sheehan: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to "implement legislation for heat network zoning in England and Wales this parliamentary session and provide Ofgem with powers to regulate heat networks", as recommended by the Climate Change Committee in their 2023 Progress Report to Parliament.

Lord Callanan: In July 2022, the Government confirmed that Ofgem will be the heat network regulator and introduced the Energy Bill to Parliament. The Energy Bill is being driven forward this session and will provide Ofgem with powers to regulate heat networks. The Energy Bill will also facilitate the introduction of heat network zoning. We will consult further on zoning and intend to lay Regulations to ensure zoning will be established in England in 2025. Zoning policy is devolved.

Ministry of Justice

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Interpreters

Baroness Coussins: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the supply chain of spoken word interpreters for HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

Lord Bellamy: The Ministry of Justice and HMCTS engage regularly with commissioning bodies, educational institutions, and external stakeholder working groups, including language professional membership organisations, regarding the routes available to those wanting to become interpreters working within the justice system. We are also engaging with the market in advance of the upcoming tender for interpreter services.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Interpreters

Baroness Coussins: To ask His Majesty's Government when the invitation to tender for the next contract to provide spoken word translation and interpretation services for HM Courts and Tribunals Service will be issued.

Lord Bellamy: The Ministry of Justice’s invitation to tender for the new spoken word services contract is expected to be published in 2024. The MoJ is currently assessing requirements for the new contract, which are complex, as it supports multiple agencies within the department. Timescales for the tender publication will be refined after this.

Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime Review

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the 33 recommendations contained inThe Farmer Review for Women, published in June 2019, have been implemented.

Lord Bellamy: Since the publication of the Farmer Review for Women, we have implemented 27 out of 33 recommendations. We have embedded the importance of family ties and supportive relationships into delivery of the Female Offender Strategy and will continue to monitor this through the Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan.On 31 January 2023 we published a progress update on the implementation of Lord Farmer’s Review for Women’s recommendations: farmer-review-women-progress-update.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Northern Ireland Office

Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask His Majesty's Government how many cases have been referred to the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland without further action being taken after one year.

Lord Caine: The Northern Ireland Office does not hold the information requested. Since the devolution of policing and justice in 2010, the Public Prosecution Service in Northern Ireland has been designated as a non-ministerial government department and is operationally independent of the Government and the NI Executive. The Director of Public Prosecutions can be contacted by email at info@ppsni.gov.uk, or by writing to:Public Prosecution Service, Belfast Chambers, 93 Chichester Street, Belfast, BT1 3JR.

Cabinet Office

Civil Service: Civil Society

Lord Mawson: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of whether Civil Service processes to measure social value are having a positive impact on the lives of poor communities; and how they ensure that previous processes which were unsuccessful are not repeated.

Lord Mawson: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they have taken to measure the success of the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012.

Lord Mawson: To ask His Majesty's Government, inrelation to the social value elements of large procurement contracts by government departments or bodies wholly-owned by His Majesty's Government, to what extent they assess tenders by evaluating (1) the absolute number of social value programmes the successful bidder will undertake, and (2) the impact and effectiveness of the social value programme; and what assessment they have made of the relative impact of each form of evaluation.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Social Value Act 2012 was designed to improve procurement practice and diversify suppliers to the government. Implementation is the responsibility of individual public service commissioners. The Social Value Model is the latest government intervention that is enabling the government to evaluate social value policy in the central government. The Social Value Model launched in January 2021 (PPN 06/20), standardises the assessment of bidder’s proposals for delivering social value outcomes based on government’s priorities. The Model takes into account factors such as the number of local jobs or apprenticeships a contractor will provide, the number of SMEs involved in their wider supply chain and improving community integration. Implementation of the Model across central government is underpinned by a detailed training programme, and central government departments are now required to report supplier social value commitments against Key Performance Indicators.

Treasury

Interest Rates

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the disparity between rising mortgage rates and lower interest rates on savings.

Baroness Penn: The pricing of products, including savings accounts, is a commercial matter for firms in which the Government does not intervene. However, the Chancellor has made clear his expectation that savers benefit from rising interest rates. He has tasked the Financial Conduct Authority to report later this month on how the savings market is supporting savers to benefit from higher interest rate.

Duty Free Allowances: Northern Ireland

Baroness Hoey: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 3 July (HL8800), why airports in Northern Ireland are not able to avail of the duty free salesfor passengers travelling to the EU now available at all airports in England, Wales and Scotland.

Baroness Penn: Northern Ireland enjoys frictionless trade with both the rest of the United Kingdom and the EU – the Government is committed to ensuring that remains the case. Enabling duty-free shopping between Northern Ireland and the EU would undermine frictionless trade with the EU.

Child Trust Fund

Lord Field of Birkenhead: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure families yet to claim their Child Trust Fund can receive the funds to which they are entitled as soon as possible.

Baroness Penn: The government is committed to helping people access the savings and money they are entitled to and continues to explore new routes to reunite young people with their Child Trust Funds. While primary responsibility for communicating with account holders and their registered contact lies with Child Trust Fund (CTF) providers, HMRC works closely with providers, the wider industry and the Money and Pensions Service to ensure that young people are aware of, and can access, their CTFs. This includes requiring CTF providers to write to their customers to inform them of their options in their 17th year and to provide statements annually after the account holder turns 18. HMRC also issues a range of communications through regular press releases, social media posts and by providing resources for key intermediaries who have greater influence and visibility amongst the CTF audience. The government’s current plans will reunite most accounts with their owners, but there may be some cases where further action will be required. The government will monitor how many accounts remain open and judge when it is appropriate to intervene in other ways.